


The Doctor, the Changeling, and their Super-Soldier Son

by YellowMagicalGirl



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Barbara is not the one doing the unethical stuff btw, But it's still unethical experimentation on a sapient being, Child Soldiers, Dehumanization, Don’t copy to another site, Eventual Barbmura, Ficlet Collection, Gen, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Death, Implied/Referenced miscarriage, Just because Nomura cares for Jim doesn't mean she isn't morally grey, Oh hey the romantic leads finally had a significant conversation, Self-Harm, Sort of considering that the experiment is only half human, Super Soldiers, This will probably be a slow burn when it comes to them, Unethical Experimentation, Unethical Medicine, tags are subject to change, vague descriptions of injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-02-29 06:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18773311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowMagicalGirl/pseuds/YellowMagicalGirl
Summary: Subject J-1M was meant as a super soldier, a weapon, a tool to be used by the Janus Order to help bring about Gunmar's rein on the surface. He's also a child, one that Zelda Nomura didn't expect to get attached to. She certainly didn't expect tokidnaprescuehim so that he could have a better life and as normal a childhood that he could get. Shemost definitelydidn't expect that she would end up raising him with the help of a human woman known as Dr. Barbara Lake.Or,a ficlet collection that's based uponthis au.





	1. Crying in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So about a month ago, I posted two drabbles set in an au where Jim is a five-year old super soldier with the designation J-1M. I'm finally posting them here. The first two I post are going to be in chronological order, and any other subsequent fics I write in this universe will be added in the order that I write them.

J-1M was crying. He did this sometimes after the tests that were run on him. He cradled his arm. It wasn’t broken, but it was probably sore and could be broken more easily.

Nomura rested her head against the wall, trying to drown out his crying. It only brought back memories of the Darklands, of the flashes of gold and viridescent light that had come from their Lady Creator. She had made them stronger, had made them immune to sunlight and allowed them to infiltrate humanity.

J-1M was supposed to be stronger than any human, and more agile than the average troll. He was the first of his kind, that was even what the one in his designation stood for. Half human, half troll. He was supposed to be the perfect soldier, the perfect  _weapon_.

Weapons didn’t cry.

J-1M had been crying for hours.

Nomura wouldn’t normally call herself impulsive. She trusted her instincts, sure, but normally she would plan at least a little. Of course, her planning was probably one of the reasons why she was a caretaker for J-1M.

She didn’t like kids, but fuck it.

She had carefully built up a heartless facade,  _but fuck it._

She wasn’t going to sit back and let the rest of the Order hurt J-1M anymore.

Nomura turned off the cameras, knowing that she had little time before they were turned back on. She approached J-1M, and the fact that he didn’t stop crying meant that this was worse than the previous times. It probably meant she was making the right decision.

“I’m going to need you to be very quiet,” she said, “because we’re going away from the ones who hurt you.”


	2. Broken Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's a strange child, but Barbara's a doctor so of course she'll treat him.

“Your name is J-1M, right?” Barbara asked. It was a strange name, but the boy sitting on her kitchen counter was certainly rather strange. Strange enough that it made sense why the woman who had brought him here hadn’t taken him to the hospital, which had led to sterilizing the kitchen counter so he couldn’t get infected. If he could get infected considering his unique biology.

The boy thought about it before nodding. “J-1M is my designation.” The fact that there was was a difference that had been instilled into him broke Barbara’s heart.

“Okay. J-1M, this is going to hurt a bit, but I need to look more at your arm so I can fix it,” Barbra said in the soothing voice she used on her younger patients. And honestly, J-1M resembled an elementary school student. “I’m going to need you to be brave for me. Can you be brave for me?”

He nodded, and then whimpered as Barbara poked at his arm. Given the color of his skin, it was hard for her to see if there was any bruising. The texture of it also felt like something she had never seen before.

“You’re being so brave,” she soothed before changing the subject. It was good to distract little kids. “What’s your favorite food?”

“I like it when Nomura brings sushi, she does it sometimes when I’m being good. It’s a lot better than the socks the scientists at the Order try to feed me.” Barbara spared a glance at the woman who brought J-1M in. Nomura didn’t seem phased by the idea that this horned child was apparently eating socks.

“Yeah, I don’t think socks would be that tasty.” Carefully, Barbara moved his arm into the position it should have been in. He yelped out in pain, and Nomura stood up. Barbara ignored her, and focused on soothing the blue-skinned child.

“You’re being very brave. The worst of it should be over by now, but I’m going to need to make sure your arm doesn’t move out of position,” Barbara said as she picked up the ruler she had tried to sanitize as best she could. She wished she had access to the materials she’d need for a hard cast, but she understood, somewhat, why Nomura had stalked her instead of taking J-1M to the hospital. 

“What other foods do you like?” Barbara asked as she wrapped the bandages around his arm and the ruler.

“Forks are okay, so are spoons.”

Instead of reacting to the odd diet, Barbara grabbed the scarf she had set aside and fashioned it into a sling. “This will keep you from moving your arm too much, that way it doesn’t get more hurt before it mends.”

“But I need my arm to be able to fight!” J-1M said, and Barbara winced. She got the feeling that his life hadn’t been a good one.

Nomura spoke up for the first time since Barbara had begun working on mending the broken arm.  “Hopefully you won’t need to fight for a long time. And if you do, I’ll protect you.” After that,  J-1M let Barbara put his arm in the cast.

Barbara carefully picked J-1M off of the kitchen counter, and after a second of caution, pulled open her cutlery drawer. She grabbed a spoon, and presented it to him like a lollipop. “I thought you might be hungry. Do you want to watch a movie?”

“What’s a movie?” he asked, grabbing the spoon and sticking it in his mouth. Barbara led him to the couch with Nomura trailing close behind. She began looking through her collection of Disney movies before settling on  _Tarzan_. She hadn’t watched it that much; James had gotten it for them to watch with the baby before she miscarried and they divorced. However, from what Barbara could remember there shouldn’t be anything to scary for him, considering what Barbara knew of his past.

When J-1M was fully engrossed in the film, Barbara turned to Nomura. “Tell me everything.”


	3. Dislocating Shoulders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nomura gets ready to do some reconaissance at Arcadia Oaks Hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place between chapters 1 and 2.

The tests hadn't broken his arm, but J-1M’s arm was broken none the less.

Nomura hadn't broken his arm, either, though if J-1M were to get taken back to the Order that's what they would tell him. They'd tell him that she had wanted to use him for her own purposes instead of the ones that would benefit their Dark Underlord and their Lady Creator. Because that was all that any of them were good for, wasn't it?

Being used for one person wasn’t likely much better than being used for another, but that wasn’t how they would spin it. The Order would make Nomura seem manipulative and cruel. That was true, but J-1M was probably the only person she had no interest in manipulating. He had been manipulated too much in the five years he had been alive. The Order would make it seem like Nomura saw him as a tool, while they saw him as a person, even though the opposite was true. The Order would tell him that he was capable of great things, such as freeing Gunmar from the Darklands.

Gunmar wouldn’t care about music and pottery and five-year-old half-trolls who cried because they weren’t weapons, no matter how much anyone said they were.

Nomura supposed it was natural, crying because of a broken arm. She had probably cried when she had broken arms before, but having a bad arm was common among changelings. Whoever made the Fetches didn’t think about the fact that trolls were built differently than goblins and swaddled human infants.

“Stay here,” she told him. J-1M tore his gaze away from the leaf that fascinated him so much. As he looked at her and remembered why he was able to see plants up close, he looked scared, and why wouldn’t he be? He had been born in the Order, and the first time he had gotten to go outside ended up in a changeling in a faceless mask breaking his arm in the meantime.

Nomura couldn’t help but inwardly wonder  _why_  she just  _had_  to be interested in opera instead of operating on people, because then she wouldn’t have to get anyone else involved. It’d just be her and J-1M. There’d be less risks involved.

“I’m going to find someone who can help you in there,” she said, changing into her human form. “But I need you to stay here.” And then, as an afterthought, she said, “unless someone who  _isn’t_  me comes for you, then I guess you can run. And then I’ll try to track you.” Hopefully it wouldn’t be a changeling who was better at tracking than her. “But you need to hide. Okay?”

Jim nodded. Nomura walked away from him and grit her teeth. So he won’t get any ideas, she told herself. She wasn’t going to cry out and bring someone running; she was too competent for that. He might cry out, though. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, which had lead to more than one beating.

This was going to hurt, but thankfully it was her bad arm. She had first injured it centuries ago, back when she was crawling through a Fetch so that she could pretend to be a baby born and raised in Edo Japan. She could put her shoulder back if need be.

She dislocated her shoulder and walked into Arcadia Oaks Hospital. Time to find the doctor who’d be most willing to take care of a kid who wasn’t human, one who wouldn’t try to get the government involved, human or otherwise.

And if she didn't find anyone, force them to do the job and kill them afterwards.


	4. Living Arrangements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara and Nomura talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look at that! An update! And this time it includes mentions of infant death! This chapter takes place after the second chapter.

J-1M was passed out on the couch. He and Nomura had been staying at Barbara's house for almost twenty-eight hours, now, and so far there had been no complications.

"So," Barbara said. She held a list. "If you two are going to be staying here, there's some things we'll have to go over."

"Sure, do you want to sit at the table? Because if you do I'll need to get up in a couple minutes for when my water finishes boiling." Nomura gestured at the tea kettle.

"No, here is fine. I know the... Janus Order? You said they're chasing you, but will you be able to work? If not I can still try and provide for you and J-1M; it'd be easier though if you can."

"Don't worry; I had a job at the local museum before I got assigned as J-1M's handler. I can get hired out of town, and I can change out my plates. The Order doesn't know  _everything_  about me."

"Okay, that's good. Do you have any allergies?"

Nomua suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She was not a  _patient,_  she had been taking care of herself for longer than this woman had been alive. "Zero fucks given. Next please."

Barbara scowled. "What about J-1M?"

"Don't give him carrots, at least, not raw. Or lettuce. Or probably a lot of different raw vegetables." They had given J-1M carrots and lettuce when he was three, just to see what his diet would be like. He had been in severe pain for hours before he finally puked them up.

"Noted. Speaking of J-1M... is that a normal name for changelings or?"

"No, it's his designation. Project Jofur, first male subject synthesized."

"First?"

"Don't worry, he's the only one in Project Jofur who survived more than a week. There aren't any secret super-soldier siblings waiting to come after him. Last I checked, it's too much of a strain on our resources to make any others like J-1M."

"Okay, that's...  _anyways,_  I was thinking. Do you think he would prefer to be called by a more... by an actual  _name_  instead of a  _designation?"_

"Ask him yourself, when he wakes up. But did you have anything in mind?"

"Yeah. Jim."


End file.
